When world leaders gather in Jakarta later this month for
the inauguration of a new president, hopes will be high that the new
occupant of Istana Merdeka will bring great changes to Indonesia and its
underperforming US$870 billion economy.
With a background as a furniture seller from Central Java,
president-elect Joko Widodo lacks the aristocratic heritage of the the
six people who have held the office of president since Indonesia’s
independence in 1945. Jokowi, as the incoming president is popularly
known, is the first president to come to prominence in public life since
the fall of Suharto in 1998.
To ordinary Indonesians, Jokowi represents a beacon of hope
who can deliver the basic health, education and welfare services people
crave from their government.
To entrepreneurs, Jokowi also represents the possibility of
change — they hope he can cut through the…